2009 Elite League speedway season


The 2009 Elite League speedway season was the 75th season of the top division of UK speedway and the 13th since its establishment as the Elite League in 1997.

Summary

The first fixtures of the season took place on 30 March and the season ended on 12 October. The Poole Pirates were the defending champions from 2008.
Leigh Adams had a stellar season, he once again topped the league averages and became the Australian Champion for the 10th time. He also won the Elite League Riders Championship and nearly led Swindon to a title success, before losing in the play off final to Wolverhampton Wolves. Wolves continued their success of recent years courtesy of heavy scoring throughout the season by Freddie Lindgren, Peter Karlsson and their new signing Tai Woffinden.
Lee Richardson top scored for the Lakeside Hammers during the season and the team claimed their first top tier trophy in their history when winning the Knockout Cup.

League table

Home: 3W = Home win by 7 points or more; 2W = Home win by between 1 and 6 points

Away: 4W = Away win by 7 points or more; 3W = Away win by between 1 and 6 points; 1L = Away loss by 6 points or less
M = Meetings; D = Draws; L = Losses; F = Race points for; A = Race points against; +/- = Race points difference; Pts = Total Points

Championship play-offs

Semi-finals
Leg 1
Leg 2
Grand final
First leg
Second leg
Wolverhampton were declared Elite League Champions, on Aggregate 95-90.

Knockout Cup

The 2009 Elite League Knockout Cup was the 71st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams.
First round
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
29/05 Ipswich45-48Belle Vue
20/04 Belle Vue 53-40Ipswich

Quarter-finals
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
26/03 Peterborough 43-47Coventry
27/03 Coventry 53-37Peterborough
26/03 Swindon57-36Wolverhampton
06/04 Wolverhampton 53-40Swindon
27/03 Lakeside 57-38Eastbourne
28/03 Eastbourne50-43Lakeside
24/06 Poole44-49Belle Vue
27/06 Belle Vue 54-41Poole

Semi-finals
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
21/08 Coventry 51-39 Belle Vue
05/10 Belle Vue 48-42Coventry
12/06 Lakeside 49-41Swindon
11/06 Swindon44-46Lakeside

Final

First leg
Second leg
The Lakeside Hammers were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 108-77.

Riders' Championship

Leigh Adams won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Brandon Stadium on 2 October.
Pos.RiderPtsTotalSFFinal
1

Pairs

The Elite League Pairs Championship was held at the Arlington Stadium on 8 August and was won by Poole Pirates.
PosTeamPtsRiders
1Lakeside24Richardson 19, Davidsson 9
2Poole22Andersen 19, Holder 13
3Coventry21Harris 15, Kennett 10
4Eastbourne21Watt 20, Bridger 10
5Wolves19Lindgren 11, Karlsson 8
6Peterborough18Iversen 12 Bjerre 6
7Ipswich15Batchelor 8, Nicholls 7
8Swindon11Adams 9, McGowan 2
9Belle Vue8Wright J 4, Risager 4

Semi finals
  • Eastbourne 5 Lakeside 4 - Richardson, Watt, Bridger, Davidsson
  • Poole 5 Coventry 4 - Harris, Holder, Andersen, Kennett
Final
  • Poole 5 Eastbourne 4 - Watt, Holder, Andersen, Bridger

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
  • 11.48
  • 8.67
  • 7.09
  • 6.65
  • 6.41
  • 6.40
  • 6.38
  • 6.12
  • 6.11
  • 4.18
  • 2.95
  • 2.15
Coventry
  • 8.74
  • 8.58
  • 8.28
  • 7.68
  • 7.59
  • 6.65
  • 4.72
  • 4.30
  • 4.24
  • 2.72
Eastbourne
  • 7.63
  • 7.46
  • 6.86
  • 6.64
  • 6.09
  • 5.65
  • 5.08
  • 3.90

Ipswich
  • 9.39
  • 9.30
  • 8.00
  • 8.27
  • 7.40
  • 6.23
  • 6.11
  • 4.86
  • 4.64
  • 4.21
  • 4.16
Lakeside
  • 8.86
  • 8.72
  • 8.46
  • 8.36
  • 6.78
  • 6.26
  • 5.23
  • 4.97
  • 3.78
Peterborough
  • 8.26
  • 8.12
  • 6.88
  • 6.80
  • 5.71
  • 5.50
  • 5.02
Poole
  • 9.77
  • 9.19
  • 8.31
  • 7.07
  • 4.31
  • 4.00
  • 3.85
  • 3.79
  • 3.41
  • 3.15
  • 2.14
Swindon
  • 10.33
  • 9.57
  • 7.38
  • 7.22
  • 7.12
  • 6.88
  • 6.59
  • 6.31
  • 6.00
  • 4.36
  • 4.12
Wolverhampton
  • 10.64
  • 9.19
  • 8.30
  • 7.27
  • 6.03
  • 5.88
  • 2.77
  • 1.88